Champs, Champs, Champs!

To know me is to know that I.love.champagne.

The relevance of that fact has little to do with anything I plan to write about, but I just got done watching Real Housewives of Orange County last night, and I couldn't help it. I love Heather a little bit more each time she says, "A round of champs, please!"

Speaking of RHOOC...that show is so ridiculously ridiculous that it makes it good. I mean, not like Friday Night Lights or Breaking Bad good. But good enough that every Tuesday, I find myself looking forward to my DVR.

(Another thing you should know about me? I.love.TV. Like, it's sick. You know when parents tell children TV rots the brain? I will not that be that parent. I just won't. I'll also add a disclaimer that I watch A LOT of crap TV but my excuse is that I think a lot during the day and I need crap that I can tune out to. Or blog about.)

So anyway, last night was the grand finale of RHOOC, a continuation of last week's "name changing party" at Heather & Terry's. By the way, who has a "name changing party"? Isn't that called a wedding?

Anyway, all that's really worth commenting on about this hot mess of women is that it really makes me appreciate the friends I have. I'm all about quality over quantity. And these "ladies" have neither.
I mean, the way these women talk to each other is APPALLING. I say that knowing that I can (and have) have a knock-drown, drag-out, speaking-out-of-anger-or-too-much-wine-consumption fight with any of my best friends. But the difference is that we don't let those moments define our friendship.

My core group of friends come from all stages of my life, from elementary school to high school to college. I met my very best friend, Brittany, when we were in 6th grade and I met another, Ashley, in college. You'd never know I had been friends with either one for more or less time. I know and love them for who they are and what they've been through and the women they've become, and I know they feel the same way about me. That gets to my point of quality over quantity. I don't really care that I only have a few friends in my surrounding area, because they are the best friends I could ever ask for.

I think it's interesting sometimes to think about the people in your life and why they're in it. One thing I love about all my friends is that we became friends at stages in life when it's easy to turn your head. When you're in elementary school, you want to be friends with the pretty girls. In high school, you want to be popular. In college, you get more of a choice on where and how you want to fit in, but you want to fit in all the same. But the girl you meet in 5th grade may not be the cutest and the girl you connect with in high school English may be considered a "nerd." Or the pretty girl you think you want to be friends with turns out to be an asshole.

The point is, I think that when you become friends with people during those most vulnerable stages of life, those are the most honest friendships. To meet someone as a 10 year old and continue to be friends as you go through awkward phases like puberty, or tough situations like a first breakup or a parent's divorce, and as you each figure out who you love and what you're good at — is powerful. You're friends whether one of you is rich or poor, skinny or fat, pretty or ugly — not because of it. You learn to really love and appreciate someone for who they are — not what they have. You love them because of certain things — and in spite of certain things. You learn someone's true colors at a very early stage and I think that makes the most honest, raw and real friendships.

I don't have time to get any deeper than that on a Thursday morning, but the point is, I have amazing friends. They're just the best and I'm so lucky to have them. Fear not, this is is not the last you'll hear of my friends. (They have all the really good dirt on me, anyway, and my best and worst moments were shared with them.)